Ten Years Later
Ten years ago Katrina hit. Chaos theory says that a butterfly in Japan affects the weather in Ringgold, GA. I don't know about that, but I know Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico affected me and many friends here.
One friend's home in Biloxi was spared while the houses in her subdivision literally vanished. I visited coastal MS for a short disaster relief trip in December of 2008, and we drove through New Orleans (and I have no intention of going back) on horribly hot day in July in 2006 or 2007. I heard on the radio today that 10,000 homes still have not been touched. That is hard to imagine.
The town we visited for disaster relief was Lakeshore, MS, where the congregation of the Baptist church said they would not rebuild the church until the community's home were restored. And they did, only within the last two years or so finishing the church. We were there to help with homes.
The pastor of my church lost everything in Katrina and moved away; we have other persons in our church who were displaced. My friend whose home was spared eventually moved away, too. The numbers on that are high.
NPR has been covering the tenth anniversary all month, but I noticed how silent they were on the role churches--all denominations and Catholic--had played in rebuilding. Of course they would. We can't expect National Pagan Radio to acknowledge the kingdom of God. (I call it that but still listen to, borrow from, and enjoy it a great deal. I even have given it money. Being a donor gives me rights, maybe?)
Some believe Katrina was a judgment on a corrupt city, but then a lot of other places are overdue. Others see it as the opportunity NOLA needed to clean up its act. Some still blame George W. Bush for it, which seems like the height of irrationality. Some wonder why ten years later so much still waits to be done when so much money was sent there. Many, like me, wonder if these questions will ever be answered.
One friend's home in Biloxi was spared while the houses in her subdivision literally vanished. I visited coastal MS for a short disaster relief trip in December of 2008, and we drove through New Orleans (and I have no intention of going back) on horribly hot day in July in 2006 or 2007. I heard on the radio today that 10,000 homes still have not been touched. That is hard to imagine.
The town we visited for disaster relief was Lakeshore, MS, where the congregation of the Baptist church said they would not rebuild the church until the community's home were restored. And they did, only within the last two years or so finishing the church. We were there to help with homes.
The pastor of my church lost everything in Katrina and moved away; we have other persons in our church who were displaced. My friend whose home was spared eventually moved away, too. The numbers on that are high.
NPR has been covering the tenth anniversary all month, but I noticed how silent they were on the role churches--all denominations and Catholic--had played in rebuilding. Of course they would. We can't expect National Pagan Radio to acknowledge the kingdom of God. (I call it that but still listen to, borrow from, and enjoy it a great deal. I even have given it money. Being a donor gives me rights, maybe?)
Some believe Katrina was a judgment on a corrupt city, but then a lot of other places are overdue. Others see it as the opportunity NOLA needed to clean up its act. Some still blame George W. Bush for it, which seems like the height of irrationality. Some wonder why ten years later so much still waits to be done when so much money was sent there. Many, like me, wonder if these questions will ever be answered.
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